Night Breaks Through the Day
by GoLdensummertime
Summary: In a darkened and impoverished land, war seems to be the only option for survival. Many secrets lie underneath the fight. Can they all be found and fixed, or are two countries doomed to forever see each other as enemies? Alternatively: A retelling/fix-up of Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest. Cross posted on AO3 (I would add more character tags, but limit. Accurate list is on AO3)
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **. . .**

Air was whistling through the hallways of the large fortress, keeping the general cool temperature stable. While it wasn't cold by any means, any of the inhabitants knew that it wasn't considered something 'warm', and always accommodated those feelings by either thicker wear or warm food and drinks.

The resident princess decided on neither. While her servants tried to brew her warm drinks and the like, she still refused to consume enough, and always ran around without shoes, despite the cold floors and the risk of tripping on a dislodged stone.

She was currently in the main library, reading with one of her maids while her other two servants were cleaning up yet another mess in the kitchen. Her fingers passed over the words on the pages without a moment's hesitation, and it ended up being too fast for her maid to follow, and a page was turned without both readers having finished.

"Lady Kamui, how did you manage to read so fast? I can't even hold a book without dropping it one way or another."

The princess turned to face her pink-haired servant. "Well, that's what happens when you read while walking. I'm sure if you sat down and focused, you'd be an expert in no time." She turned another page, skipping some of the information. "Also, I had a good teacher or two. That helped a lot as well."

The maid sighed and leaned back on her heels, her dress rubbing against the edge of the princess's chair. "I don't have enough time for things like that… I'm always too busy cleaning up my messes…"

"Speaking of, Jakob was looking quite angry this morning. What happened?" The princess turned, curiosity on her face.

It wasn't too often that she was able to converse with anyone other than her three servants, one guard, and her four siblings, who only came over when allowed to. It was rather lonely, she figured, so getting to know each person better, even if by a little mishap, was always welcome.

The maid blushed and stuttered for a few seconds before composing herself. "I dropped another of the plates that the king brought over here before you were born... " She sighed, looking dejected, and straightened out her dress a little bit to avoid eye contact with her superior. "I always end up dropping _something_ …"

"Well, practice makes perfect right?" The princess stood up and tapped the maid on the shoulder. "It's ok, Felicia. If you practice with less expensive dishware, then maybe you'll get less clumsy."

"My sister isn't nearly as clumsy as I am, and we're twins…"

"Well, it's nice that you aren't exactly the same." The princess turned to face one of the large windows in the fortress, positioned in the large library for way of light during the day. "If you were exactly the same, then there'd be no point in having different names, right?"

"I don't follow, Lady Kamui."

Kamui sighed and sat down on the edge of the window, glass still closed as a result of the fierce wind outside. "I don't know how similar people are supposed to be, but it's nice that people are different. If they were the same, then I'd get bored so fast…"

A tapping sound echoed across the library, and both residents turned their heads to greet the new visitor, the sister of the maid.

She turned her head, eyes cold but not unforgiving, toward the princess. "The two younger royal siblings have arrived, Lady Kamui. They are down in the main room. I hope you don't keep them waiting."

Kamui gave a light laugh, turning her head towards Felicia. "Well, I suppose that's my cue." She kept her true elatedness concealed to seem more dignified, but in reality the princess had nary a cause to hold back. She had been waiting for a visit from her siblings for weeks, and once a message had arrived about the due meeting, she could barely hold in her excitement.

"There's apparently some assignments for you from Lord Leo. They have to deal with academic study, medicine training, and sword fighting." The twin with blue hair kept her even expression as the princess walked up to her, and they stood at nearly the same height.

"I thought my medicine training was over since I was so poor at it."

"Lady Elise wished to spend more time with you other than your breaks, and Gunter decided that it wouldn't be out of line to accommodate her."

"Ah, that makes sense." Kamui turned around Flora, exiting the library with Felicia at her heels. "Do you think I look presentable, Felicia?"

"Y-you look beautiful, Lady Kamui. Although, once you begin your sword fighting practice, you should probably change into the outfit that Lady Camilla picked out for you last time she visited."

The outfit in question was a set of armor that conformed around the body quite nicely with simple shades of white, grey, and black, paired with a cape. Camilla had included the cape for 'fashion reasons' although Kamui found herself questioning the smartness of having a cape in a fight.

Other than the armor, black underclothes matched the set, and accompanied Kamui's love of bare feet; no shoes were included, although Leo had voiced his opinion of fighting without them.

Kamui had also complained over the fact of leggings that didn't completely cover her legs, but Camilla had assured her that it looked nice, and if someone attacked her and was "awestruck by her thighs" then it would only take a well-placed swing to knock them out. Apparently 'incomplete armor' had its benefits, but Elise and Flora had their doubts.

"I don't think that will be completely necessary. It's not like we'd go all out with our fighting, and we'd be using wooden swords, right?" Since Xander hadn't been part of the aforementioned list, Kamui could only assume that it would be Leo helping her with her sword skills, although their older brother was by far the superior.

"Xander wanted to move onto more formal fighting in order to see your abilities in a more realistic situation." Felicia stopped Kamui before she climbed down a set of stairs. "Is your sword ready, or do you need me to polish and prepare it, Lady Kamui?"

The princess hummed to herself for a few moments, reflecting on the current state of her weapon. "Well, a bit of care certainly wouldn't hurt it, but I haven't used it since I trained with Gunter a week ago, so it should be ok."

Felicia nodded, and the pair continued heading down to the main room.

They entered the wide expanse, and the sight of large banners decorated with Nohr's colors caught Kamui's eyes again. It never failed to take her breath away, especially since the fabrics were so vibrant she could see the style and type from her distance on the ground. This time, however, she turned her attention to her two guests, since they were of far more import than the banners above her. She skipped over to her sister, her bare feet skidding slightly on the stone floor. She wrapped her arms around Elise, enveloping her in a hug after making sure her pigtails weren't in the way.

Elise gave a laugh before returning the favor. "It's been forever since we've seen you last, big sister! I have some stories to tell you!"

Kamui withdrew from the hug to look Elise in her eyes. "If you didn't mention it in your last letter, then it must not have been that big of a story."

Elise stuck her tongue out. "Well, it happened after I sent the letter, and since I was coming over, it seemed weird to just send another. It has to do with the gardening…"

A sigh came from her left, and Kamui turned to face her brother. "Not this again. You've told the story to every willing ear. I'm sure Kamui can infer enough with only a few words this time around."

Elise pursed her lips and threw a mock punch to Leo's arm. "Well, Kamui should hear the full story since she can never come to the gardens in the first place. Don't be mean, Leo."

Kamui let out a light laugh, knowing that her siblings would probably continue to banter like this no matter what she said about the subject. "Well, first off, Jakob and Flora will be bringing some tea to the sitting room, so I suppose it's best that we move there first? We can start the garden story after that, Elise."

Elise nodded, her pigtails bouncing, and Felicia led the three to the so-called sitting room. In reality, it had been a previous war-council room, but after Kamui had taken up residence, she had decided to claim that room as one of her own, and had decorated it in flower decal with the help from her servants. Since then, Jakob had taken to serving her tea in flower decorated cups to keep with the design, and once again, that tea set had been used to serve her and her siblings.

Jakob dipped his head once after serving tea to Kamui. "If you need anything, I'll be at the door."

"No matter, you can just sit down. It's not like we're discussing anything confidential, right?" Kamui turned her head to look at Leo, who shook his head.

Elise gave a chuckle. "If it was confidential, then I'm sure this place would have Xander and Camilla instead of me and Kamui."

Leo narrowed his eyes at the comment but left it as is.

Kamui took a sip of her tea, savoring the light lemon aftertaste. "So, what's the story this time, Elise? Did another owl come down and scare off a field mouse?"

"Nah." Elise set her cup down and leaned forward, hands on her knees. "This time, there was a lizard in the tomato bush, and Leo was about to kill him for ruining one of the tomatoes, until I caught it with my bare hands!"

Kamui leaned back, expressing amazement and delight on her face. "Wow, that takes a lot of skill! I haven't managed to catch a butterfly, let alone a lizard."

"Leo said he was probably fat from eating a tomato, but he seemed skinny to me." Elise gave a sigh and rested her cheek in her hand in a fake show of pity. "The poor thing was probably starving since our garden is the only source of food in the castle."

Leo scoffed, but it was done lightly to appear akin to Elise's fake actions. "The mice have beaten the lizard when it comes to smarts, then."

"Well, I can't disagree with you on that one…" Elise shook her head. Kamui tilted her head slightly.

"What do you mean by that?"

Elise turned back to look at Kamui after taking another sip. "Well, when I set him in the front pavilion so he could go free, he ran into a wall. I think there was a bug there, but that's only an assumption."

Kamui closed her eyes, unsure whether to feel pity or disappointment in the thing. "Ah. Brain damage, huh? Must have escaped from a bird or something. Maybe another owl. Or maybe it just doesn't have enough experience?"

Elise shrugged, and bit into one of the bread pieces that was lying on the table as refreshment. "Who knows. At least I saved the rest of the tomatoes."

Kamui chuckled, giving a sideways glance to Leo who had been shaking his head during the last part of the story. "At least you did that, right?"

"Tomatoes are special, Golden. Not only do they fulfill the taste known as 'umami', they are also resilient, able to be grown in Nohr soil, and are a part of many recipes that are easily made and taste good." Leo crossed his arms, cheeks slightly pink after realizing that he had once again argued about the importance of tomatoes.

"Well, they certainly make good soup, but only if it's Camilla that makes it." Elise finished off her bread piece, swiping the sesame seeds into her hand before depositing them on her napkin. "Xander's getting better, but last time he burned the herbs…"

"How do you burn herbs?"

"How do you burn tea, Lady Kamui?"

Kamui turned, mortified that Jakob had spoken up about her last attempt to brew tea. She opened and closed her mouth for a few seconds as Leo snorted behind his hand and Elise snickered lightly. "Well… it was my fourth time ever. You… You can't blame me for that right…?" She rubbed at her cheeks to get her blush to disappear.

"Indeed, you have gotten better, but by my predictions, it will still take around fifty tries to achieve the tea taste you have pursued so."

"Well…" Kamui gave a laugh. "Practice makes perfect?"

"Jeez, sister, you're just like Xander." Elise gave a light sigh. "Oh well, not everyone is meant to make things that are edible, right? That's why we have servants to make things for us, and then we always have good food since they always make good stuff."

Felicia walked through the doorway after knocking on the hard wood door.

Kamui stood up to walk over to her, ignoring Jakob's objections. "What is it?"

"Flora did an inventory check and noticed that we were behind on tea leaves again, so we only have a few more pot's worth." She dipped her head, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry for the disappointment."

"Hm, only four tries, huh? Seems suspicious, Kamui." Leo's voice rang out from behind the princess, and she turned indignantly.

"Well, maybe I lost track a few times, but it's nothing that can't be remedied right?"

Elise and Leo's faces turned dour, and Kamui blinked in surprise.

Jakob stood up, dusting off his pants. "Well, this was an elucidating conversation, as expected of the royal family, but I'm afraid that it's time for Lady Kamui's tutoring session. If Lady Elise would follow me to her room we shall get her settled, and Lord Leo and Lady Kamui may take up residence in the library."

Elise stood up and straightened her sleeves, making sure that she didn't accidentally knock her tea cup off of the table, and took one last drink. "Of course, Jakob. No need to be so uptight, right?" She gave a laugh as the butler gave another sigh, although he concealed it as a deeper breath. The pair walked into the hallway and exited to the right.

Felicia nodded her head. "Well, I'll follow you two so that I can prepare anything needed in the library. Do you need paper and pencils, or will you be reading primarily?"

Leo hummed in thought for a few seconds before shaking his head. "No paper. It's not necessary this lesson."

Kamui gave a sigh of relief. No paper meant no math, although this meant that it was probably another history lesson on the land to the West, maybe something more about Nohr's history, although she has scoured nearly every library book trying to learn more about her country. Leo had taken notice of that long ago, and had only quizzed her on information as opposed to directly seeking it out in lessons.

"Perhaps another lesson on proper tea making would do us fine? I'm sure there's an instruction book somewhere that you haven't checked." Leo turned his head to Kamui, a joking expression on his face, and she wasn't completely sure if he was being sarcastic or was trying to genuinely help her with her expedition.

She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips as a response, trying to come off as hurt. "Leo, I'm saddened that you'd think me incapable of handling even the most rudimentary of searches in completion of my, albeit small, quest for perfecting tea." She made sure to use superfluous English to get across the fact that she had taken it as a jest, and Leo seemed to understand as much.

"Well, then perhaps you'd like to know the true lesson today?"

"I'll surprise myself."

The three headed up to the library, and Felicia opened the few curtains closed over the smaller windows, providing more light to the room without candles.

Kamui wandered over to one of the smaller circular tables and pulled out a chair for both her and Leo to sit down in as he perused one of the few shelves near the back wall, pulling out a few books.

Felicia bowed once to Kamui, Kamui returning the favor with a dip of her head, and she exited the room, leaving the door half-open behind her.

Leo gave a light sigh and placed the five books he had picked on the table. "You've been diligent in your history studies, so I figured that we could have an off day from your struggles. We'll be doing literary analysis today in order to discover the time period the books were created, and what the author was trying to achieve by writing them."

"Analysis, huh? I was thinking you'd choose music theory or something." Language continued to be Kamui's favorite subject, and she often excelled at anything related to it, although not without perseverance and hard work.

"Well, that would be too easy for you." Leo opened the first book and flipped to a middle page before moving the tome in front of Golden. "This book is a collection of short stories. This one here," he pointed to the middle of the page, "carries across the feelings of most of the other short stories, so this would be the best place to start for your analysis."

Kamui nodded her head. "I recognize this one. It's about a king and his prince, right? Starting with that information, I can deduce that, if this originated in Nohr, it was made around 200 years ago, since people back then were running wild with fairy tales that involved royal families in order to cope with the fact that royalty was often not doing enough for the common people, despite it seeming to be a time of prosperity."

"Yes, that is indeed true, Kamui." Leo leaned back and crossed his arms. "I didn't think you'd remember that."

"Well, I was comparing that time era to the current one now. While the royal family may not be doing their 'utmost best' now, it's because the country is suffering, and not because of their own greed and corruptness." She looked at Leo. "Xander was doing political discussion with me last time he was here, and he continued our last lesson of that."

Leo sighed through his nose and closed his eyes, turning his head away from Kamui in the process. "Well, it's not _un_ true… I think..."

"Hm? What is it, Leo?"

"Nothing of grave importance." He turned back after a few more seconds. "Continue with your analysis."

Kamui nodded, and continued on with the lesson.

. . .

 _I still can't remember how to get that line to separate these things lol._

 _Here it is! A fix-up story for Conquest! I'll need some help though, so I'm looking for some feedback._

 _I'm sure everyone had at least one annoyance with the story in some way, so I'd like for you to voice those thoughts either in a PM to me or a review on here. Examples being "Why do the dawn and dusk dragons even exist? Include something about them, like (this)!", "Lilith could have been handled way better. Have her do (this)," or even something like "Camilla's characterization seemed off, can you make her more like (this)?". Some things I'm for sure going to be changing will be pacing, reasons for backing up Garon in the first place (although I would really really really like tips on that! Getting him on the throne is NOT a good reason for progressing plot, Kamui! Aqua!) and changes to some chapters that seemed empty, like the staircase one, and changes to some characters like Kamui and Leon who really could have been expanded more (I mean Takumi is his parallel and we see him at his worst. Why not Leon? Fear not! I am to the rescue...). Also good-by to that stupid orb. Seriously._

 _I have chapters 1 and 2 done, with chapter 3 about half done. There'll be another major story question next chapter, so I'd like feedback on that when the time comes! After that, it's unlikely there'll be an author's note this long lol. I'll also put warnings on the top of any chapters that need it, although that won't be for a bit._

 _Thank you for checking out this story, and happy reading~_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 **. . .**

A vision of a fight between countries greeted Kamui's eyes as she woke up and became aware of the real world around her. Aware after her maids froze her eyebrows off, anyway. She gave a gasp and sat up, assuring the twins and Jakob that she was fully awake and ready to train. After a comment from Jakob to Felicia, Kamui tried remembering her dream more, feeling that it was different than her other dreams. It felt more stressful than the others. Was there something stressing her out in the real world?

"A dream of someone other than the Nohr royal family calling you 'sister'...?" Jakob seemed incredulous and seemed to want to pass it off as dream thinking, while Flora seemed more nervous. Kamui found it rather odd that her maid would become so anxious over a silly dream, but before she could question her about it, Felicia was pulling her away to the changing room, wanting to get her ready before her training with Xander.

"Jakob said that he pounded out the dents already, but if there's anything uncomfortable, please tell me." Felicia handed Kamui her chest plate, and the princess strapped it on. A few birds were singing outside the window, and Kamui turned her head, wondering if she could see anything in the near-blackness of the morning.

"I'm surprised that Xander wants to train so early. Usually he's busy working me through drills until we're sore." She pulled on her leg armor, making sure she didn't hit her feet as she did so.

Felicia gave a shrug, although it seemed to Kamui as if she was hiding something. "Well, what Prince Xander does is what he does. I wouldn't know of any of it."

The conversation died down to occasional offers of help as Kamui finished getting dressed, and Felicia handed her the sword she often used for training. It was a normal sword, but it had been the one Kamui trained with most often, so she felt a sort of attachment to it. If Leo or Camilla asked her if she had emotional connection to it, though, Kamui would deny the claim.

Gunter helped Kamui outside to the training area on the roof. "It's good balance practice," was what she was told by her guard, but Kamui wondered if it was that or if someone else was using the current training room. Xander, seeing Kamui enter the area, stopped tending to his horse and walked over, Leo quickly following his action.

"I see you look awake and ready for training." Xander gave her a once-over, and Kamui saw his eyes linger over where a particularly nasty dent had embedded itself in her armor. "Whoever fixed your armor did a wonderful job."

"No kidding." Leo gave a sigh and glanced at Xander out of the corner of his eye. "You need to relinquish your blows occasionally, Brother, lest you bring Kamui to an early death."

Kamui gave a light laugh and waved her hand in the air, dismissing his concern. "It's nothing really. The bruise healed a week ago as it is."

Leo gave a sigh, but didn't continue further. Xander straightened up and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I assume you are prepared already, sister?" After Kamui nodded in confirmation, Xander gave a smile of relief. "If your training is fruitful today, perhaps Father will finally allow you to attend with us at the castle."

Kamui gave a laugh, imagining the situation herself. "If that day comes soon, I'll be truly glad." She nodded to Leo, who exited to the side of the training area, and unsheathed her sword, watching as Xander climbed onto his horse and repeated the motion.

"Show me what you can do, Kamui!"

Kamui took a few steps forward, the feel of the floor beneath her feet providing some comfort when it came to her stance. She made sure to keep Xander out of her range. If she wasn't careful, he might just go and use his shadow attack on her, or whatever it was. His sword was scary enough just being a sword, but the first time she had witnessed its true power, she had been scared for a week.

Not because of how easily it had obliterated everything, but because it was Xander, her big brother, who was meant to wield such a weapon.

She didn't know for certain if Leo was watching her from the edge of the arena, but when she cast her gaze to the side, she happened to notice that he had gotten ready in a rush akin to hers: his collar was inside out.

Making sure that funny thought was pushed to the side of her focus, Kamui stepped forward again, readying her sword for a frontal attack. After adjusting her hands to a proper position after the moment of distraction, she lunged at Xander, clipping his arm with her sharp speed. In retaliation, he swiped at her chest, knocking her back a few steps while winding her.

"Focus Kamui. You must be ready and prepared for any kind of retaliation the enemy may be preparing." Ushering his steed forward, he slashed through the air again, hitting Kamui in the side this time. After failing to raise her sword fast enough, Kamui settled with it blocking a second blow, sending a ringing feeling up her arm.

Kamui sensed someone coming up to the arena area, but didn't bother looking to the side since Xander was taking a step back, and she lifted her sword, anticipating another strike.

"You seem tired. Here, let me just…" He urged his horse backwards and used a dragon vein, opening a healing spot just behind where the princess stood.

"Ah. Dragon veins are so useful…" Kamui shoved back a jealous feeling before stepping the small distance to the healing spot. The effects were almost immediate, and she felt her bruises fading away. Checking her arm, she affirmed that observation.

"Come at me again, Kamui, and let's see if you can apply more of your learned information." Xander shifted on his horse as he adjusted his grip on his sword, preparing a more defensive stance as Kamui felt around the ground more, checking the stability of the flooring beneath her. After shuffling forward for a few moments, observing Xander's stance and positioning, Kamui lunged forward, aiming for his unguarded left, switching the sword to her left hand in turn. She cut into his leg, feeling bad for a second that she had caused him physical injury, but in the long run, it was little damage compared to what he had undoubtedly suffered through in his many battles. He groaned in turn, swinging his sword to block any follow up attacks, but Kamui was already tired from speeding through his defenses, and decided to settle in a more appropriate stance, his sword quickly falling onto hers.

A trickle of blood began falling from his wound, and Kamui hoped that any of her marks hadn't opened up. She swung her sword again, ducking under his wide slash, hitting the underside of his arm.

"Guh! Perhaps I should take your superior speed and mobility into account." Xander huffed as he readjusted himself, careful to not upset his wounds, and lunged at Kamui, slicing into her side, bringing forth a gasp of surprise mingled with sharp pain.

Leo stepped forward, Kamui only noticing out of the corner of her vision, and the pair stopped sparring to avoid any crossfire if he decided to wander closer. "Perhaps this is enough. I feel like I've been able to observe Kamui enough to glean meaningful information. I don't want you to run her to the ground, either."

Kamui stood up straight, favoring her right side to avoid a spike of pain in her left. "You were only testing me for observation?"

"Well, yes." Leo turned to face the shorter sibling. "Father wanted to know if you were strong enough to his liking." He smiled with a snarky flair, a typical smile. "Needless to say, I'm impressed. Your stances and fluidity have improved substantially over these few months. Father should be most pleased with these results."

Of course he should be. He was pleased whenever her skill increased, and no doubt Xander and Leo would up the ante by exaggerating. Her eyes met Leo's and she held back a giggle. "Ah, Leo, your collar is inside out again."

"Wh- Damnit!"

Xander gave a light laugh as Leo rushed the side to adjust it and made a quip about him being the younger prince. It flowed in and out of Kamui's ears as she debated whether she had improved a lot during the past few months, or only a little bit, depending on her speed.

"If you mention something about my clothes again, I swear…" Leo had arrived at Xander's side again, and the two began to debate battle tactics.

Kamui lowered her sword and leaned on the metal, stretching her left arm and felt her muscles protest. Leo's eyes met hers and he frowned. "You should get that fixed, Kamui."

"Well, do you volunteer? Elise said something about your lack-luster bandaging skills. I wouldn't mind being a training dummy." Kamui took a step closer and brandished her side like a trophy. "Here, look, I'm bleeding."

Leo blushed in indignation while Xander gave an apologetic sigh.

"Haha, there's no need, Kamui! I'm right here." Elise stepped into the princess's line of vision along with her older sister, Camilla.

Camilla gave one of her special, loving laughs. "I see you three are up and awake. How are you doing Kamui? Did big brother Xander hurt you?" She took a step forward and opened her arms. "Let big sister give you a hug."

Kamui took a step back. "Perhaps after I get this checked up on. I don't want to get blood on your armor."

"Oh please," Camilla chuckled again, "a bit of your precious blood will hardly stain my plates. I'm more worried about your emotional pain."

Elise walked over to tend to Kamui instead, a staff already in her hands. After a few seconds of the older siblings talking about various subjects, Elise nodded her head with a large smile, assuring Kamui that it wouldn't leave any lasting marks and that she was good to go.

Xander turned to face Kamui, and the other two siblings did the same. "Your sword skills have improved vastly during our time training, Kamui." He paused as Elise grabbed onto Kamui, enveloping her in another large hug.

Camilla threw a smile to Xander's direction before he could continue that train of thought. "If I may, I wish to be the one to share the wonderful news with our dear sister." She stepped forward, and Elise relinquished her hold, a smile growing on her face.

"What is it?"

"Father has allowed you to come to the capital! Isn't that wonderful news?"

The princess let her mouth fall open in shock. All of these years of training, all of the time she had spent alone in the fortress… She was finally allowed to visit her father in the capital like everyone else?

"Isn't that wonderful, Kamui? You can finally spend as much time as you want with us!" Elise tucked her hands behind her back, leaning forward with an even bigger smile on her face. "Now you'll be able to witness our stories in person!"

"It's… Amazing." Kamui laughed lightly and looked in Xander's direction. "Maybe now I can be a proper soldier for Nohr, right?"

"Haha, we can discuss the details with Father once we arrive at the capital. In the meantime, Kamui, you should organize your belongings and prepare for the journey home." Xander saluted with his hand before exiting the training area, and Elise followed him, likely wanting to make sure that he wasn't too badly injured.

Leo angled his head towards Kamui, still keeping his body faced to where the slight wind wouldn't be too chilling. "Is there anything I can do to assist you? I have nothing in my foreseeable schedule."

The princess gave a sigh, and Camilla glanced at her with a bit of worry in her gaze. "Well, I suppose Jakob and Felicia will already be dealing with that business… You needn't bother yourself."

Leo also sighed, but in a lighter fashion. "Well, if there's anything you need…"

Kamui shook her head and gave a smile. "I probably don't need to bring much of anything." She paused for a few seconds to think about what materials she would need. "Is my sword necessary, or do I just need my basic things?"

"Well, that depends on what you have, sister." Camilla took a step forward, and the three began toward the exit. "Of course, you should pack your best clothes so that you may look your best whenever you can, especially when there is an important meal."

Leo shook his head in exasperation but decided not to comment on Camilla's statement and opened the door to the exit, Camilla and Kamui following him.

"I don't think that's necessary, Camilla," Kamui muttered. "Father's only just now allowed me to go to the castle. Looking forward to classy events is probably not something I should be doing." Leo and Camilla were silent at that, and the tone dropped.

"Ah, not that I'm going to be pessimistic about anything, it's just that I'm not raising my hopes for anything that's considered royal-like." Kamui clasped her hands in front of her, looking down at them as the threesome continued walking down the stairs. Their footsteps echoed across the long staircase, and Kamui was glad that the stones weren't completely chilly.

"Well, if you ever want to attend something like that, just ask me." Camilla smiled warmly to her younger sister, and Leo shot her an astonished look. "I'll be sure to ask for the best meals."

Kamui laughed again, the previous nervous timbre gone from her voice. "That's kind of you Camilla, but you know I prefer your guys' cooking over someone else's any time."

"So you like Brother's cooking?" Leo ran a hand through his hair. "Interesting…"

"Ok, other than Xander's, but with enough practice, I'm sure it'll get on Camilla's level someday." Kamui stifled a chuckle behind her hand. "You sure don't hold your punches."

Camilla laughed in turn. "He knows that everyone can handle it. Save for Elise, anyway, the poor dear."

Leo frowned, but didn't explain further what she meant, and Kamui could only assume that Elise's kind personality had troubles conforming with Leo's more blunt one. She hadn't seen Elise get upset in a while, but it wasn't like the princess saw much of her family to begin with. Once that thought entered her mind, she felt a bit upset. There was probably so much that she had missed, whether it be something small like a lizard story, or something much larger and irreplaceable, like a bond formed or an experience shared.

Although, when it came to changing personalities, she supposed that the only reason Xander and Camilla seemed a bit different was because they hadn't wanted to share a darker side with her when she was younger and more imprintable. Leo and Elise, on the other hand, had probably grown up the same as she when it came to personality changes, at least in the sense of them being on the same time length.

Elise seemed much the same as she had when they had first met, bless her soul. She was a constant ray of light in Kamui's life, and each time the

youngest visited, it felt like a large weight had been lifted from the princess's back.

Leo, on the other hand, had become more hardened and cold to others, she had noticed. The way he acted towards her had matured, of course, but Kamui still missed the times that they had played together, forgetting for a small moment of time that she was barricaded in a fortress and he was a back-up prince to the throne. He seemed almost cold to her, sometimes, and there was a certain emotion in his eyes that seemed off, different than when they had been kids.

She had once brought it up to Camilla, but her sister had immediately turned the subject away from that somber topic. It was something Camilla was good at after all, as she had effectively stopped many conversations from starting if she deemed it unhealthy. At least, that was what Kamui had figured, because there would be no other reason for her behavior.

Each of her siblings worried her, but she assumed that they had not wanted to upset her about being barricaded in a fortress. Since it was finally her time to leave, it was much more likely that they would all be more forthcoming, and Kamui was looking forward to that change of pace, not to mention the change of scenery.

Leo split off to go check up on Xander and Elise, while Camilla and Kamui continued to the latter's room, and watched as Felicia continued to mess up packing procedures, and eventually Jakob and Flora took over completely, and Kamui reassured Felicia from the side that she would get better with enough practice. Camilla seemed to be rather annoyed at Felicia's actions, but the younger sister wasn't sure since she didn't voice anything akin to annoyance aloud.

Kamui was put in charge of her own weaponry and armor, since apparently all of her favorite books had already been packed yesterday. She figured that Leo or Elise had done so, since they both would have also known about Kamui's moving. She checked over her sheath once before handing it off to Jakob, having cleaned it before taking off her armor earlier. She also packed her armor into a case, where she had also stored her back-up a few months prior, having it 'just in case'. It wasn't like she would be doing any hard-core fighting, but considering the amount of things she had damaged in her excursions as a younger kid, Camilla must have been being careful and planned ahead for the future.

"Kamui darling, is there anything of emotional value that you'd like me to stow away, like a blanket or a curtain?" Camilla shuffled behind Kamui as the younger princess slammed her chest shut, locking it.

Kamui turned her head to look up at her taller sister, reflecting on the many things that she'd have to leave behind as a result of going to live at the castle. While it wasn't a bad move, there were definitely things of sentimental value that she'd end up inevitably leaving behind. It would be best to choose the items she felt the closest to.

"Well, there's a nice chair in the library that I'd always read in, so if it isn't too much trouble to bring that…" Kamui trailed off, wondering if a chair would be the best thing to mention since she didn't know how they'd be traveling. Camilla would probably want Kamui to fly with her on her wyvern, but everyone else would probably be traveling on horses with maybe one or two carriages depending on what the king wanted to bring from the fortress.

"A chair is no problem, Kamui dear, don't worry your head about it."

Kamui smiled and gave a light laugh. "If you say so, big sister." She tore her attention away from Camilla to finish placing her trunk near an area of easy access, freeing her hands to allow her to organize Jakob and Flora better, since the two were neck-deep in an argument about what blankets would be best to take along.

After everything had been packed and locked away, Kamui, Xander, Jakob, and Felicia decided to go down to the stables in order to prepare the horses, and for the princess to say her last goodbyes to the horses that she wouldn't be traveling with. Kamui stepped towards a dark brown workhorse, one of the horses used for whatever plowing the fortress could afford to do in the rocky soil. She ran her fingers through its mane while she fed it a carrot, and let a laugh escape as it nuzzled her hand, wanting more.

"Everyone here will miss Lady Kamui's presence," Lilith, one of the stable hands, spoke up to Xander as he watched his sister with a sort of fascination. The girl gave a small smile, hands clasped in front of her, as she played with the hem of her sleeves.

"Aw, Lilith, you don't need to say something like that." Kamui turned away from the horse to stand in front of her friend. The girl blushed and looked down, her blue braid swinging down from the motion. "You're coming with us after all."

"R-right…"

Jakob sighed, but it didn't seem to be out of annoyance. "Lady Kamui has such a kind heart, even caring for wounded birds."

Kamui laughed and turned her head away from Xander's gaze. "It was the right thing to do, of course. I couldn't just leave the poor thing alone."

Lilith went quiet as Kamui and Jakob continued with their bantering. Xander wandered over to the number of horses that would be used for the travel back, making sure to check up on his own in the process. Kamui followed, handing him a bag of feed, despite Jakob's opposition to her action. The crown prince then grabbed a brush and began tending to his horse as Lilith and Kamui did the same to the others.

After straightening up and dusting off her clothes, the princess turned to face her retainer. "Is there anything else that needs to be done, Jakob, or are we ready to leave?"

The butler shook his head before turning to face Xander. "Everything has been packed and prepped, and the stable hand should be here with the saddles any minute."

Kamui nodded her head in affirmation and glanced at the prince. "I suppose we should get Elise, Camilla, and Leo. Where were they again?"

"Various places, but we should be able to find them in an apt amount of time." Xander set down the curry brush and straightened up again.

"Everyone is excited for you to finally see the castle after all, and it won't do to dally."

The princess gave a light laugh, hand covering her mouth. "Yea. I can't wait either."

. . .

Sooooo totally screwed up the formatting for this the first time, so I murdered someone, griped about it, and redid all of this. Thank goodness I back up my stuff, but I had to edit my avatar's name out AGAIN and boy, Nohr family says it so many times.

So, for the next big question. Should I keep the fight scenes in the fic? I'm assuming most of you have played the game, so it could be redundant if I put them on here. Sure, I'll keep the big, important fights, but I could spend more time on plot relevant stuff if I keep the others out. If I kept the fights in, I could expand on those scenes, but this fic would end up a lot longer and be updated less frequently. What do you guys think?

Also, there's a fight next chapter which would probably reflect the style of writing I would apply to any fights that aren't as important as, say, the final 5 chapters. You can judge off of both this fight and the upcoming one (once the chapter comes out lol I've spent the past month working on it and it's still not done. Thank you precalc for giving me an hour of homework every night for months).

Happy reading~


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

* * *

Arriving at the large capital city was like a dream come true for the Nohrian princess. She hadn't ever seen pictures of the area (at least, recent ones), and all she could really imagine was a dark, yet calm place, since Elise provided rather biased descriptions, Leo was more analytical with his, and Camilla and Xander seemed unable to speak of it without appearing upset.

The horses had enjoyed the trip, despite it being a fairly long one. A few times, they halted, stuck, on near-impassible cliffs as a result of the clunky carriages, although Camilla and her wyvern had been able to navigate enough to assist the carriage-drawers. Those events had passed without further incident, though, and they arrived at the city at the predetermined time.

"It is likely that father will be preoccupied with meetings, so we shall do the necessary set ups when we arrive at the castle." Xander climbed off of his horse in order to stretch his legs, and Kamui watched Leo and Elise do the same. Camilla landed her wyvern and walked over to the princess's carriage.

"Is it at all like you imagined?"

Kamui hummed in thought for a few moments before shrugging and jumping down from her seat, making sure that she didn't startle the horse. "I suppose I imagined it to be above ground as opposed to being in a cavern of sorts."

Camilla laughed. "We haven't even gotten to the dip yet. It's a nice place for a castle to be, really. No drafts to freeze your poor feet. No harsh wind."

Kamui turned to look at the first wall that the group had already passed through, with another in front of them. "It's a lot more desolate than I would have first thought, considering the books I've read…"

Camilla was silent for a few moments, and Elise took the initiative to walk forward and grab Kamui's hand. "It's not that bad, really. It was worse before…"

Leo and Xander certainly hadn't been forthcoming with information about the current city, and Kamui had to wonder if it was because of guilt or worry. It was constantly dark as a result of a stubborn overcast, but Kamui didn't mind the shadows and rain at all. It was rather enjoyable, as she had been stuck inside whenever something like that had occurred. "I haven't seen a lot of people around though. No one at all, really."

"Well, people like staying inside, or they're working somewhere. The smithies here are very popular for weapons," Elise added with a hint of pride, "so people are often working there."

"Right, there's some Nohrian weapons that are rare and well sought-out."

Camilla nodded and chuckled. "Perhaps your studies will benefit you in the castle. I'm sure with your knowledge of language, you'll fit in in no time."

Elise nodded as well, tugging on Kamui's arm again. "Hurry, let's look around a bit before we have to start moving again." The pair walked over to one of the few stores in the immediate area, a medicine store. Elise began going on about how the herbs in the area weren't good for much else than prevention of diseases, so most stores dealt with this by carrying staves, although everything was so expensive that people couldn't buy anything of lasting use. She explained how, if she saw someone hurt, she would then try to help them free of charge.

Kamui had known how altruistic Elise was. It would be impossible not to, but to hear of the experiences that she and others had gone through cast a new light on her perceptions of the youngest princess.

"Elise, Kamui, hurry it up before we end up leaving you. Again…"

Leo didn't sound particularly annoyed, but stopping at a roadside to look at the flowers was an embarrassing reason to be left behind. Elise grabbed a few herbs after slapping down some coins, grabbed Kamui's arm, and the pair ran to the carriage, getting the things arranged before the group started off again.

They arrived at the castle the next day, having stopped a few more times so that Xander and Leo could make the proper observations and notes on how the country was doing. It had been for some report, and as soon as Kamui was situated in the castle, they had gone off for a meeting with some noble instead of the King. Kamui was slightly confused at this, but wasn't about to question the way things were run at the castle.

"Come on, I'll show you to your new room." Elise grabbed onto her hand again, gave a smile, and pulled Kamui off through the castle.

"That way is where some servants' quarters are. The kitchen, or at least the smaller one, is down that way." Elise pointed her fingers down some hallways as she pulled the older princess along, chatting along about some history of the rooms, some events that had occurred in them. Apparently, one servant got a little too trigger happy once and murdered another servant in the middle of meal cooking.

"That happened way before I was born though. Even before Xander, although he's the one who told me." She laughed a little bit before covering her mouth. "I know it's not funny, but to kill someone just to get rid of competition? It's silly."

"No kidding. I wonder what happened to them after that."

Elise shrugged before stopping in front of a door. "Probably hanged." She gestured at the large wooden door, carved with ornate designs of flowers. They appeared to be roses, Kamui thought, as she leaned closer to get a better look. "This is Leo's favorite room, the library. This is the largest one in the castle, and has collections of the history books, lesson books… Basically everything that's not fun to read, but it does have some nice stories." She didn't open the door to elaborate, instead walking off further down the hallway, and Kamui followed.

"My favorite library is the smallest one because it has hidden reading areas and the largest collection of fictional books." She crossed her arms behind her back, and Kamui slowed her pace. "My favorite place in the castle is the indoor garden, though. It has a lot of flowers."

"Does it have any foods growing?"

Elise hummed in thought for a few seconds as Kamui looked out one of the windows, seeing the walls of the large pit that the castle occupied lit up in shows of Kamui light. That was where the better off families probably lived, since the poor could never scrape together enough to live in the capital city, let alone near the castle. Unless they were already living here, of course.

"It has tomatoes, but that's only because of Leo's magic. The book, Brynhildr, allows him to grow some foods, and tomatoes turned out to be the best off."

"No apples then, huh?"

Elise gave a sigh. "Yea, it's a little too hard for them to grow. Something about the soil, and it'd take up too much of Leo's energy to keep sustaining them. Tomatoes are smaller, so it's easier."

The pair eventually made their way to Kamui's new room, already being put together by Jakob and a few other assistants. Kamui was excited to see that some of her items had been placed in the exact way they had been in her old room. Of course, the bed was different, but her favorite quilts had already been lain in the fashion that she had preferred above others.

Jakob leaned up and made eye contact with the princess, straightening his posture as he noticed her looking back. "I hope everything is in accordance with your wishes, Princess. If not, please inform me so that I may make the necessary adjustments."

Kamui gave a light laugh and waved her hand in dismissal. "It's fine. However you set it up is perfectly fine, Jakob."

Elise looked across the room at the few pictures that were hanging on the walls. "Oh, that's one that I painted over there." Elise pointed to the picture of the large rose hanging on the wall, and Kamui felt a swell of pride at noticing how well it had been crafted. "I was walking in the garden and I found a rose to copy."

"You're quite good at art. I didn't expect it."

Elise laughed, a hint of blush on her cheeks. "Well, Xander isn't very good, and neither is Leo, and Camilla says that she wants me to be the best one. She's better at drawing weapons for the log books anyway, she says." The pair turned away from the wall to exit the room, Elise not nearly done with her tour of the castle.

They passed by Camilla, returning from a flight with her wyvern, and Leo and Xander finishing up a meeting with the king and his advisors. Kamui couldn't help but notice that the brothers had to forcibly change their expressions to ones of a lighter tone, and it made her worry for what topic had been discussed, but Elise brushed off her concerns, saying that "it was normal". She didn't expand on it, and Kamui had to leave it be.

Sometimes, they had looked that way when they visited the fortress. Their eyes would be hollow, and the darkness would barely be veiled behind a thin layer of joy. She had noticed it easily, but after the first time she had brought it up (Leo had brushed off her concerns, saying that it was magic use related), she hadn't had the energy to speak of it again. Certainly, she had been sheltered in the fortress, but she wanted to help everyone any way she could. If they weren't going to tell her what was ailing them, then she couldn't really achieve that wish.

Eventually, they reached the dining room, a large table already laid out with anything necessary for dinner. A few maids whom Kamui didn't know were setting up some appetisers, and Elise quickly sat down and began digging in after making sure that Kamui would be sitting near her.

Kamui figured that Camilla would come as soon as she had gotten changed out of her riding clothes and finished whatever tasks she needed to, but couldn't guess when the other two siblings would arrive.

A quick glance across the table revealed to Kamui that she really had no clue how royalty ate in the company of other royals. Whenever she had eaten at the fortress, it was either casual or not even in a proper time frame that could be called 'meal time'. The utensils, while not foreign to her, were still awkward to handle in formal situations. At the fortress they were focused on conversation instead of formalities. Sure, she had a basic idea of what to do, but now that she was living in the castle, she would have to have more etiquette classes. The very thought made her cringe.

Kamui sat down next to the princess and passed her eyes over the food in front of them. The stuff was of a fairly high quality, although various meats dominated the few fruits and vegetables that adorned the dishes. This shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering how even at the fortress, meats were the main meal, but even so, Kamui found herself worrying for Nohr.

"Ah, Camilla! Sit next to me!" Elise waved at her older sister, and the malig knight gave a laugh and obeyed, making sure to hug Kamui as she passed her.

"How are you settling in, Kamui? Is the castle as appealing in person as it is in stories?" Camilla started cutting up a fairly large steak - she must have been hungry from training.

The princess grabbed some pork and sauces before mimicking her sister's action. "It's a nice castle. It'll take some time to get used to the size, but it's about how I imagined it." She accentuated the statement with a laugh.

It was nothing like she had imagined, but with little to go off of, it was only natural.

"When will Leo and Xander come? We need to have a proper dinner as a family!" Elise puffed out her cheeks before stuffing her face with a bread roll.

"I'm sorry, darling, but Xander and Leo are too tired to come today. They have a lot of work to do."

Translation: the meeting with father didn't go as well as hoped. Camilla seemed to be covering up something, though. Perhaps a new mission or something? Xander had often shared with Kamui how he had to go across the country doing many things. While Leo hadn't been so forthcoming with information, she could assume that the same was true for him, considering how Elise and Camilla referred to him as the top strategist for Nohr.

She had yet to meet up with King Garon herself, but that would happen tomorrow. It was exciting, being able to live in the castle and be with everyone, but the solidifying action would be that meeting. There would probably be something accompanying it. Perhaps a greeting ceremony? Kamui had no clue what would happen, but, the anticipation making her hungry and excited, she dug into her food, letting her imagination conjure up various ways that tomorrow could unfold.

* * *

AAaaaaand chapter 2 is finally up!

Haha jk this is only... 2/3 of it. It was getting long, so I just chopped it so that you all wouldn't have to wait another week. This was the original end anyway (before i remembered that i had to meet garon then i cried)

I was on vacation for 2 weeks, so basically everything was put on hold for 2 weeks... Including this. I wanted to at least get half of chapter 3 done, but I didn't want to have you guys wait any longer... So it's not even started lol. My parents put a ban on internet, so I can use it from 4 on. At least now I finally have a reason to migrate from docs to word. Too bad I use information to help with the writing of this thing (oh weLL) (on that thought, i remember fate's plot wayyyy less than awakenings? i always need to look stuff up sobs)

SO you can expect part 2 sometime in the next week or so. It's written, I just need to edit it for minor things. It's also the battle scene.

Another big decision on my part. This is ending up to be a lot harder to write than I expected since I've been placing emphasis on a lot of things. I would prefer to leave out plot events that are fairly sound (I skipped the giving of Ganglari next part, for example, since I was fine with how that played out in game), so there will be some chunks gone from the story. Mostly the things that bored me to write because it would be paraphrasing, or needed to be cut so that the story wouldn't be too long. I hope this is OK!

Once we're away from the tutorial chapters and deeper into the real plot, there will be a lot more character interactions instead of world/situation building. I plan on introducing things like ships and friendships during that time, so stay tuned! I hope the ships aren't too obvious haha. Also i hope to actually make something out of the deeprealm idea... It was either the worst idea ever or some seriously untapped potential. Except the babyrealms. screw those.

Happy reading~


	4. Chapter 2(point)5

Chapter 2.5

* * *

A first test in the form of defeating some prisoners? It seemed like a daunting challenge, but if King Garon gave the test to her, he must believe that Kamui could pull it off. There was no reason to be upset or annoyed, so she readied her sword. Jakob and Gunter were right behind her, ready to assist.

It was her mission, though, so unless they were sorely needed, Kamui wasn't considering letting them into the thick of the battle. Jakob wasn't trained like she was, and she didn't want to strain Gunter.

The prisoners eyed her warily as she used a dragon vein ability, opening up a healing area just in case; if one of them were injured, she wouldn't want it to stay that way for long. The ninja caught her eye as he shifted his position, edging his way across the wall as she, Gunter, and Jakob took up position on the healing area.

"Jakob, the ninja has shuriken, so make sure and hit him so that I can go in and finish him off without much of a problem. Gunter will be there to provide back up on the other side and defend from the stronger warrior." Her retainers nodded, falling into position as Kamui readied herself to attack the fast-approaching ninja.

Jakob threw his knife at the critical time, catching the green-haired male in the arm, but taking a shuriken to the leg himself. The healing spot would patch him up in no time, but Kamui made quick work of the ninja, Jakob providing much needed back up. The Hoshidan fell to the ground, muttering something about his home country. Kamui couldn't quite make out his words, but didn't particularly care. He was unable to fight any longer, and she needed to turn her attention on the two samurai who had been flanking him. One of them slashed her arm, but she took care of him quickly enough, thanks to Jakob's support again, and the second was finished off by Jakob, and she took a turn as support.

Gunter hadn't been assailed yet, and the pair took the time to move to the other side, and the butler healed the rest of her wound, his own having been healed amply enough.

"Nice job, Lady Kamui." Gunter shifted on his horse, taking a rear-guard position behind Jakob as the butler shifted into position to attack another samurai with his knives.

Kamui shifted on her feet as well, the feeling of being healed by magic still foreign to her. "Thank you, Gunter. That means a lot coming from you." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the ninja and his, samurai shifting their positions to get out of the line of action. Leo and Xander watched from the sidelines, and Camilla and Elise looked towards their father.

The fighter yelled at Kamui, something about her country as well. Kamui didn't feel any sort of connection to the two, so she figured that it was a typical speech that any prisoner would give. If she had been taken, she'd be spouting words about the grandness of her own country.

Jakob took down the samurai, and Kamui engaged the fighter, backed up by Gunter.

"Nohrian scum, you'll pay for this treachery to Hoshido!" The fighter, Rinka, Kamui remembered, swung at the princess's leg, successfully knocking her down. Kamui swiftly raised her sword, blocking a blow to her chest, and slashed her sword at the fighter.

Ganglari was a truly magnificent sword. If it had been normal iron, Kamui wouldn't have even been able to hold it up due to weight. It was doing grandly in its first fight, and she was proud and excited that Garon had decided to gift such a wonderful weapon to her. Its purple hue contrasted with the hilt, and there was a certain magical aura that hovered around the blade.

Camilla had eyed it warily when it had appeared out of thin air. Kamui wasn't sure for the reason; it wasn't like it was a sword meant to explode upon touch or something to that effect. Elise hadn't worn such an expression, so Kamui passed it off on her musing about something. Perhaps the means that the sword had come into existence? Surely even King Garon couldn't create something out of nothing, but he was probably adept at transportation magic.

Ganglari successfully connected with the fighter's legs, a red streak appearing on her shins. Rinka knelt down, a noise of pain emanating from her mouth, and she shifted her club to a defensive position.

Kamui rose up, twirling on her feet quickly to avoid being hit (her forte with fighting was swiftness and aversion, after all, as opposed to Xander or Camilla's strength), and slashed at the fighter again, blade colliding with the blunt metal of the club. The fighter recovered faster than Kamui from the rebound of the blade, and hit her hip with a force that the princess had only expected from Xander. She screeched, muted as it was, and stepped back to avoid a second blow.

Her hip wasn't broken at least, but it would be bruised for days, even with treatment. She brushed off Jakob's worries, telling him to take down the last samurai from his current, protected position.

Holding her blade parallel to the ground, Kamui lunged forward, aiming for Rinka's arm. As she lifted her club up to block the attack. Kamui slashed at her exposed right side, gouging a gash into her ribs, and the fighter collapsed, unable to fight any longer, Ganglari causing more damage than either side expected. Sure, the fighter didn't have any armor and Kamui did, but she was a warrior. Kamui expected Hoshidan warriors to be able to take a few more blows.

It was a tough fight, regardless, and after Kamui, the prisoners, and her siblings moved in front of the king off of the battlefield, she leaned on the hilt of the sword, exhaustion setting in.

"Wow, I hope all Hoshidans aren't this strong," she breathed out, the sword hilt warm beneath her hand. She turned to face the king, a satisfied smile on her face. "I've defeated the prisoners like you've asked, Father."

The king gave a sideways glance to his advisor, Iago, and they shared some sort of non-verbal conversation that Kamui couldn't decipher the meaning of. "Good. Now execute them."

The princess's mouth dropped open in surprise. Surely defeating them had been enough! They were defenseless, wounded, and in no way going to put up a fight. What justice would be served in their deaths? They were people too, even if they were from the opposing country that they just happened to be in a cold war with. She voiced such thoughts aloud, turning to her siblings for support.

They gave none.

This shocked her even further. She knew that Xander was a military commander and had led battles against Hoshidan forces that strayed to Nohr's borders. She knew that Leo was one of the top strategists for their army. She knew that Camilla was one of the best fighters. To have no support from them against a cruel command, though, was something that Kamui could never have expected or anticipated.

"Are you disobeying my command, girl?" Garon seemed extremely angry, a degree of which Kamui had never experienced. Sure, she had barely seen Garon at all in her life, but from what Xander, Leo, and Camilla told her, he was more passive aggressive than likely to outrage.

Kamui stuttered for a few moments, trying to compose both herself and a logical, sound argument, but before she could even utter something above a quiet level, Garon shot a spell towards one of the wounded samurai, killing him instantly.

She gave a muted shriek, having been close enough to the spell to feel the heat of the flames singe her skin. She was sure the remaining prisoners behind her were feeling it as well, along with whatever emotions would come along with seeing a comrade being killed in front of their eyes.

"Do what I said! Execute the prisoners!" Garon's advisor nodded his head along with the king's words, and Kamui felt her legs freeze up. She couldn't just murder unarmed people, regardless of whether they were Hoshidan or not. She looked to her siblings for support, but their gazes were trained on their father, mixed emotions on their faces.

Impatient, the king aimed another spell at the green-haired ninja whom Kamui had defeated.

Her body moved on its own, and Kamui felt herself raise up Ganglari to deflect the brunt of the magic attack, the large sword absorbing the power. The heat of the flames died down quickly, but the heat borne by emotions flared up, and even before Garon could scorn her, Kamui felt that she had done something terribly wrong, even if saving a life was correct at the core. Her blood chilled, and she must have had the kind of expression that her siblings were currently wearing: complete shock.

Garon's expression hardened, even though the action would have seemed impossible for him to perform. He turned to Xander, the crown prince still wearing his mortified expression. "Xander, kill Kamui."

"What?!" Everyone's voices echoed across the large room, and even the prisoners behind Kamui tensed. She was as surprised as they were. Not only was she given a gift, but Garon had saved her when she was younger. Saved her from the clutches of death. Was he really going to follow that kindness with death? It was unbelievable, but it was the event unfolding in front of her eyes, and she could see that Xander wasn't about to disobey his father. She held her sword in a defensive position. She had trained with Xander for years. She should be able to fend him off, at least until Garon could come back to his senses.

With a solemn tone in his step, Xander moved to stand in front of Kamui, brandishing his own sword in a show of power, the darkness flooding off of it in eerie waves. "Kamui, please stand down. You don't know what you're doing."

Kamui took a step back, holding Ganglari in front of her chest, the wider part of the blade protecting her heart. She shot a gaze towards the other royals, quickly skipping over Iago and Garon, who seemed to be satisfied and blank, respectively.

Camilla had a pained look, as far as Kamui could tell. Naturally, she would be upset that Kamui disobeyed a direct, possibly fatal, order from the King, but at the same time, she wouldn't want Kamui to be killed, much less by Xander.

Elise seemed about to cry, and the only thing holding her back from racing down to protect Kamui seemed to be the fact that Camilla was standing next to her. She gripped her staff, hands pale.

Leo seemed to be the palest of them all. He too was gripping his weapon tightly, but he also had an unreadable expression on his face. Other than Elise, he seemed most likely to step down, and as the second prince, it would be likely that he wouldn't be punished severely.

She turned back to Xander as she noticed him move out of the corner of her eye, and he brandished his sword. "Kamui, reconsider!"

"I'm sorry Xander, but I can't just kill unarmed people!" Kamui took a step back, noticing the green haired ninja's eyes widen in surprise, as if her statement was the most startling event of the day. "I won't stand down."

The prince's frown deepened, and he took up an attacking stance. "Then so be it." He swung the sword with blinding speed, slashing Kamui on her skin that was exposed by her inefficient armor. It was a weakness that they had discussed many times, but since she was never going to fight, they passed it over.

Of course he'd exploit that weakness.

After rubbing a finger over the wound (it wasn't too deadly, as long as she didn't get hurt any more), Kamui lunged at Xander, flaunting her superior speed and flexibility in a twirling slash at his head. Her strength was much lower than a normal swordfighter's, so her superior mobility had been tempered by her numerous days in training. The princes had given up on increasing her strength long ago, instead focusing on her movement.

It would have helped her in the fight, if Xander hadn't anticipated her movement and blocked the attack. Sword skidding on sword, Kamui collapsed to the ground, thrown off. Before Xander could take advantage of her vulnerability, she stood up, but still took an attack to her shins. She ducked to the side to avoid another slash, unable to stand up fully as a result of the lingering pain.

Leaning heavily on her sword, Kamui stood a few feet away from Xander's reach, contemplating how many more attacks she could take and still be able to fight. Xander seemed to be doing the same, and he didn't attack for a few more moments.

"Father, please reconsider! Kamui is a viable fighter and will serve you well when time comes! She's just… New to how we do things around here, please just give her time!" Kamui could hear Leo trying to reason with Garon on the sidelines, but there was no positive reply, and Leo quickly shut up. She would be on her own.

Xander sliced her side again, and she gave a muted cry, and was unable to block Siegfried's second attack to her chest. She nearly collapsed on the floor, but retreated a few steps.

"Big brother… please…" Kamui forced out the words through gritted teeth, leaning on Ganglari again.

Xander seemed to be conflicted on what course of action he should take next, but with both Iago and Garon on the sidelines, his options were limited. "Please stand down, Kamui. I don't need to fight you."

A burst of magic flowed at Kamui's left, and a burst of trees leapt from the ground, the prisoners collapsing before Kamui could reply to his statement. She gave a gasp and turned, watching their bodies fly through the air, boosted both by magic and the force of the trees.

"I have dispatched the prisoners, Father. Xander and Kamui don't need to continue their bickering. I can only ask that you are less harsh in your treatment of her insubordination." Leo gave a sigh. "Despite my teachings," he turned to give a sideways glance to the shocked princess, "it seems that she is still in the dark about our dire situation."

Garon waved his hand, a stark contrast to his assertive body language and tone earlier, and walked away with Iago in tow. "I will consider the matter later."

Elise ran over to Xander, Kamui having ignored her advances. Kamui slid to a halt in front of Leo, who had turned, anticipating her action. "How could you do that? They were unarmed prisoners who-"

"I agree that Father was being harsh with all of his orders, which is why I didn't kill them." Kamui blinked, ready to fire another sentence, but he raised his hand. "Father will not be very merciful, though. Be glad that you are… A princess of Nohr."

Xander walked over, not needing assistance from Elise's staff, and Camilla walked over to Kamui, giving her a worried look. "Enough, Leo." Xander gave his younger brother a pointed look before turning back to Kamui. "What you did was very stupid and reckless. Such an act will be intolerable on the battlefield, and such an act of kindness may lead to your death."

Kamui glanced to the side at the prisoners who had survived. "At least then I would die with no regrets…"

Xander sighed and turned his head as Elise began healing the princess's wounds. "Guards. Examine the prisoners and retrieve the borrowed weapons. Bring their bodies to my quarters. I shall then dispose of them properly." The guards voiced their acknowledgement, and Xander walked off, following Garon and his advisor.

Leo sighed, and Kamui brushed off Camilla's worries. "I should have followed Father's orders." He glanced over to Camilla and Elise, who were still fawning over Kamui. "But, Elise and Camilla would have been upset. They always make such a fuss over you when you get moody."

Kamui gave a grateful look towards the prince. "Thank you, Leo. Really…"

Elise laughed, releasing Kamui's arm. "That was still awesome, Leo. You always deal with things nicely."

Camilla followed Xander's own actions with a lingering frown. "I am worried about what Father will do to you, dear. He doesn't forget slights like this. No doubt you will have to prepare for a just punishment."

"Xander hurt her enough. Isn't that good enough for Father?"

Leo and Camilla left Elise's question unanswered.

After releasing the prisoners secretly (or at least the remaining ones), Kamui followed Xander to his quarters at his behest. His door was designed with an intricate design that reflected what roses and vines may look like, but it was too vague for her to pick it out completely. She pushed it open after she accidently let it fall closed.

"I would like to think that you have knowledge enough about what is going on between Nohr and Hoshido, but today's actions show otherwise." Xander sat down in the chair in front of his desk, and Kamui took a chair opposite. "I had thought that Leo would have covered enough subjects in order to show the severe tension between countries."

Kamui gripped the edge of the dress that she had changed in to. "He spoke enough about it. It's not the tensions I don't get. I just don't want to kill someone without good reason. I don't want to kill anyone really…"

"And what about on the battlefield?" Xander turned to face her, and Kamui's eyes began to reflect worry and nervousness. "You do not have the luxury of picking and choosing whom to kill and whom to spare."

Kamui gulped and looked to the side, feeling tears prick the corner of her eyes. Xander gave a long sigh. "In the end, I suppose that Father's choice of isolation will only hinder your development as a person…"

She scrunched up her eyebrows. "I'm a functioning person, Xander, not an experiment to be looked at. I can function fine, I can fight."

"Perhaps you have skill with the sword, but what about with other people?" He turned in his chair to face her fully, his eyes holding seriousness, but also a sort of gentleness that Kamui wasn't used to seeing in tense situations. "You can count the amount of people that you've met on your hands. I worry for your future, and for how you will deal with the real world."

"I know enough from books and stuff. I'm fine, Brother."

He sighed again, and Kamui could tell that it was a tense situation. "Learning from text and learning from experience are two completely different things. I worry for your future, Kamui, if what you've shown today is anything to judge by. Ignoring Father's orders is not something that should be repeated if you value your life."

"What…?" She watched as Xander stood up and handed her some papers.

"These are some letters from Lords and Ladies addressed to Father. I would like you to read them over and familiarize yourself with them."

"Aren't these private?" Kamui stood up as well, glancing over the papers.

"No. Father has given them to be to answer." Xander waved his hand. "You are dismissed. You will meet with Father in a few day's time for your… punishment."

Kamui dipped her head, holding the papers to her chest. "Of course, Xander." She gave one more look to the prince before exiting his room, closing the doors behind her.

* * *

I changed some dialogue and cut out where Kamui actually gets Ganglari. That scene wasn't too bad in my mind, and I was already going slow.

Honestly, this was a really fun chapter to write, since all of the royals are there and we can see Garon for the first time (feat. Iago).

I read Othello recently, and oh boy I can see where they got the name. No one trusts Fates!Iago in the first place though haha. I wouldn't.

Chapter three... still hasn't been started... I was in an angst mood so I wrote a takumi dying oneshot, and did more requests for a request blog. I'll be doing a class over summer, and am also volunteering at a radio station, so it will be slow coming. And then I will start school full time... and it will get slower... then i get to start college... and be slower... sorry

I don't really want to give up on this fic though, so I'll try to update when possible. I'm saying a tentative once a month? Maybe more if I'm lucky.

Review with your thoughts, concerns, or if you see an error somewhere.

Happy reading~


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